Deep throat

Weather was good, so I went out for 30 minute short trip in the evening. I caught this 13 inch smallie.


Can you see my swimbait in its throat? Pretty deep in it.


This 13 inch fish swallowed 5 inch bait in a gulp.


By the way, I spotted herring the other day at Troy section of the Hudson River. Herring is here, and game fish and fishermen are going nuts!

Season opener, 18" smallmouth bass!

Finally I caught season opener bass. Nowadays, I cannot afford a fishing trip, so I went to a spot near my apartment for 30 minutes of casting. After 20 minutes of casting, I caught this one right in front of my foot. Smallies are near to bank at this time. I could not enjoy much of fighting. It seems perfect season opening!



While fishing, I saw carp jumping around me. I thought that carp is inactive at this time of year, but they were active at the Hudson river. I also saw couple of striped bass fishing boats. They are here! Oh well, probably after my defense in May, I can go striper fishing. I hope they stick around for longer this year.

More pictures:

Modern Welfare State!

Congratulations to all Americans to become a modern welfare state!!! Of course, I am talking about the health care reform bill. As a foreigner, I can tell you that it is not that bad to have government insured health care. Actually, it is good to have a social safety net. Someone may say that the bill is a luxury that Americans cannot afford. But isn't there anything that is more valuable than life? I hope that the bill will save more lives, and most of all every Americans get healthier. Cheers!

Know what your fish eat

I found a short article at Spring edition of GameOn (Dick's sporting goods' magazine): Brent Postal, "Purge and splurge." It basically discusses how to organize your tackle box. At the end, Postal said,

Nothing beats knowing what food will be available to the fish you're trying to catch. For example, if a smallmouth angler knows grasshoppers will be around, he or she can leave the deep jigs at home.

Bingo! I think it is THE advice to all anglers: "Know what your fish eat!"

First outing in this season

So frustrated by a writing project, and I decided to go out. I went to the Hudson river shore nearby my apartment. Last season, I caught my first bass April 2nd. So, what can I expect? I fished for nothing on drop shot rig for 30 minutes under bright spring sun. It was not that cold. Surprisingly, water was not that murky. Smell of river was so refreshing. I could not notice any baitfish activity. This time of year, crawfish must be main diet of bass. Sorry, no fish today. I hope to get one soon. Thanks to warm weather, I expect to catch one by the end of March.

Ah, I saw Weekly Circular from Dick's Sporting Goods. They offer discount for all reels: $5 off for $10-30, $10 off for $30-60, and so on. What a good deal! I was thinking to buy a small reel for my ultra light rod. You may want to check out, too. Shimano and reels with price ending .97 are excluded (tricky part!). I will look at Quantum.

Quote of the day

"Essentially, all models are wrong; but some are useful"

-George E.P. Box, 1987

I love it.

Level of Angler

Larry Dahlberg is a Shimano pro and host of "The Hunt for Big Fish," which is a fishing show at Versus TV. It is one of my favorite fishing shows. Larry is one of the most serious multi-species anglers. He does not only catch big fish but also make his own lures. Yesterday, I heard him saying about "phaseof angler"

1. Try to catch any
2. Catch the limit
3. Aim to catch bigger one
4. Know how to catch in his/her own way

He might want to say the fourth one when he was presenting lure making. I thought about the level of anglers, and here is my version:

1. Novice: Catch whatever one can.
2. Intermediate: Catch only what one wants.
3. Advanced: Chase for bigger ones
   
4. Guru: Happy enough to be at the shore whether catch or not.

I may fall into level two and try to move on to the next level three. It is not easy. Which level are you at?

By the way, there is a similar fishing show at Animal Planet: River Monsters. Biologist and extreme angler Jeremy Wade is the host. In many aspects, these two shows are similar. They even fished the same water for the same species: Indian Gonch. Jeremy's show is more science-based, while Larry talks more on fishing techniques and tackles (and Jack link beef jerky :-<). Both are great multi-species fishing shows!